Los Gatos Creek is primarily fed by water released from Lexington and Vasona reservoirs.

The new reduced flows will result in parts of Los Gatos Creek going dry over the next few days. Grimes said that’s bad news for fish in the creek, but there’s not much that can be done about it.

“We’ve been talking with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and we don’t have a plan to try to capture any fish because there is really no suitable habitat to put them,” he said. Officials said moving fish to the limited remaining streams could negatively impact the fish that are already there and that are already under considerable drought stress.

Water captured in Lexington Reservoir is used for groundwater recharge. Water released from Lexington Reservoir percolates into groundwater basins as it flows down Los Gatos Creek or is diverted to a system of groundwater recharge ponds. Currently, no water from Los Gatos Creek is being diverted to the groundwater recharge pond system due to the low flows. Ultimately, water released from the reservoir is pumped from the groundwater basin through municipal and private wells to be used as drinking water.